An example of the power of the governor's ability to appoint people to boards and commissions.
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Two former members of the state’s disciplinary board for judges claim they were ousted by Gov. Greg Abbott for initially voting to sanction a Waco judge who refused to officiate same-sex weddings, the Houston Chronicle first reported on Thursday.
Abbott appointed Amy Suhl, a retired technology executive, and Maricela Alvarado, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, to the commission in June 2018 for a term that was set to expire in 2023. But in a highly unusual move, the governor’s office ultimately excluded them from a list of appointees up for confirmation from the Texas Senate, effectively axing them from the agency.
The appointees told the Chronicle the governor’s office claimed he had “decided to go in a different direction,” but they believe they were ousted because they had favored penalizing Judge Dianne Hensley, who has publicly stated that she officiates heterosexual marriages but not homosexual ones. Earlier this week, the commission announced it had voted to publicly warn Hensley, a relatively light punishment. The commission has the power to suspend judges.
“What the governor’s doing is wrong,” Suhl told The Texas Tribune on Thursday. “They’re not supposed to be trying to coerce people to vote a certain way. It’s just not right.”
